Workington man is a political term that has been used by

polling Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

companies in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Named after the

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders the Scottish council areas of Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders to the north, Northumberland and County Durham to the east, North Yorkshire to the south-east, Lancash ...

town of

Workington Workington is a coastal town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. The town is at the mouth of the River Derwent on the west coast, south-west of Carlisle and north-east of Whitehaven. At the 2021 census the ...

, the term was first used ahead of the 2019 general election. Workington man describes the stereotypical

swing voter A swing vote is a vote that is seen as potentially going to any one of a number of candidates in an election, or, in a two-party system, may go to either of the two dominant political parties. It usually comes from voters who are 'undecided' or ...

who it was believed would determine the election result. Their support of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

in the 2019 election helped the party break the Labour Party's Red Wall of

safe seat A safe seat is an electoral district which is regarded as fully secure, for either a certain political party, or the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both. With such seats, there is very little chance of a seat changing h ...

s. The term was invented by Onward, a centre-right think tank, with a ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' article describing the characteristics of Workington man as a northern male over the age of 45 without a university degree, who enjoys

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

, and who had previously supported Labour but voted for

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

in the 2016 referendum. The ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' described the term as "just the latest depressing political caricature". The term is similar to political stereotypes used at previous elections, such as

Worcester woman ''Worcester woman'' is a political term used by polling companies in the United Kingdom. It profiles or describes a type of median voter, a working class woman in her 30s with two children who worries about quality of life issues and has little ...

, who were thought to define the characteristics of a key target voter. Labour had held the

constituency for most of its 100-year history, with the exception being the period following the

1976 by-election Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

, which saw a Conservative candidate elected against a backdrop of Labour in government at national level. Less than three years after this by-election victory, the seat returned to Labour at the 1979 general election. Going into the 2019 general election, it was seen as a key marginal seat for the Conservatives to win from Labour. On a 9.7% swing, it fell to the Conservatives on election night, marking the first time the seat had elected a Conservative at a general election.

Abolition of constituency

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished. The town of Workington itself was combined with the majority of the also-abolished constituency of Copeland to form

Whitehaven and Workington Whitehaven and Workington is a constituency of the House of Commons in the UK Parliament. Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, it was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election, since w ...

. The remainder, comprising the majority of the electorate, was reformed as the new seat of

Penrith and Solway Penrith and Solway is a List of UK Parliament constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, UK Parliament Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review ...

. In February 2023, Workington's MP

Mark Jenkinson Mark Ian Jenkinson (born 28 January 1982) is a British Conservative Party politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for the abolished seat of Workington from 2019 to the 2024 general election. In the 2024 United Kingdom general ...

announced that he had been selected by Conservative Party members for Penrith and Solway, which was considered to be the safer seat.

Rebuilding of the Red Wall

In April 2023, a

Labour Together Labour Together, formerly known as Common Good Labour, is a British think tank closely associated with the Labour Party. Founded in June 2015, it supported Keir Starmer in the 2020 Labour Party leadership election. It works to measure public ...

report suggested the Conservatives' vote share among 'Workington man' voters had dropped, from 49% at the 2019 general election to 15%, with Labour's vote share among the group increasing in turn to 56%, a lead of 41 points. Analysis by ''The Guardian'' said that should the level of support that Labour "currently receives from this group emirrored on election day, Labour would win back every one of its 30 lost red wall seats".

References

2019 United Kingdom general election Culture of England 2019 in British politics Political terminology in the United Kingdom Politics of Cumberland (unitary authority) Polling terms Stereotypes Workington Socioeconomic stereotypes {{UK-poli-stub

Abolition of constituency

Rebuilding of the Red Wall

See also

References